Receipes from the Melbourne Australia Jaycees
Pavlova â?? uniquely Australian
In 1935, the chef of the Hotel Esplanade in Perth, Western Australia, Herbert Sachse, created the pavlova to celebrate the visit of the great Russian ballerina, Anna Pavlova.
TRADITIONAL PAVLOVA
Serves four
Ingredients:
3 egg whites (room temperature). Make sure that you don’t get any yolk in - or they won’t beat properly. Separate each one separately into a glass - before adding it to the others.
9 slightly rounded tablespoons white sugar
1 teaspoon vinegar
1 teaspoon cornflour
2 drops vanilla essence
Method:
1. All the bowls and beaters must be scrupulously clean and as dry as the Australian outback or the egg whites will not fluff.
2. Beat the egg whites until they form peaks.
3. Slowly beat in the sugar - 1 tablespoonful at a time. This should take about 5 minutes.
4. When all the sugar is added the mixture should be very white and shiny.
5. Fold in cornflour, vinegar and vanilla.
6. Spread onto an oven tray covered with a piece of wet greaseproof paperâ??keeping the peaksâ??like a mini Ayers Rock.
7. Bake in the oven around 150 degrees Centigrade for 10 to 15 minutes and then turn the oven offâ??without opening the door. Leave the pavlova there for an hour or two or three. I really doesn’t matter so long as it’s turned off and you can see through the glass that the pav. isn’t going too brown.
8. Serve with whipped cream, strawberries, raspberries, kiwi fruitâ??or any other fruit you like. Even a chocolate bar is good.
9. To prevent the pavlova going softâ??don’t add the cream ’til just before you serve it. When I whip the cream, I do not add extra icing sugar as the recipe is sweet enough.
10. If you want to make a slightly bigger Pavlova simply increase the number of egg whites you use. Just add an extra 3 tablespoons of sugar per egg white.
Definitions (these may help?)
castor sugar/superfine sugar
cornflour/cornstarch
